Chapter 8: Breaking the Barrier (Part 2)

Li Ran nodded. A silver star flew from his forehead and instantly transformed into a spindle-shaped sacrificial artifact—actually a knife-shaped one. It looked quite ordinary, neither dazzling nor intricately designed, with a faint metallic glow, like a spindle-shaped piece of metal. There were no common runes on it. It was about the length of a palm and three fingers wide. He couldn’t help but say, “Uh, it seems pretty ordinary…”
Qi Wu Zhen asked, “Ordinary?”
Li Ran smiled and said, “An ordinary appearance doesn’t mean it’s ordinary inside. It took us a long time to refine this. Well, its surface has been sealed by me, and it needs to be nurtured in my soul for some time.”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “You’ll know if it’s ordinary when you use it.”
Guo Shier smiled and asked, “What’s its name? What’s this sacrificial artifact called?”
Li Ran replied, “It’s called… Breaking the Barrier. Well, I just gave it a name casually. This is the most extreme sacrificial artifact I’ve ever seen. You’ll see its power soon.”
Breaking the Barrier!
Guo Shier understood what Li Ran meant—he wanted to break through this small world. He asked, “Can I control Breaking the Barrier?”
Li Ran nodded and said, “If you control it, you can probably unleash about 20% of its power.”
Guo Shier said with a wry smile, “So you mean… even though I’m a professional at the ninth-tier altar, I can only use 20% of Breaking the Barrier’s power? Can you use 100%?”
Li Ran shook his head. “I can use 80% of its power. If I go all out, maybe 90%. But I can’t use 100%—not even Xiao Zhenzhen can!”
Xiao Zhenzhen?
Guo Shier’s vision went dark. Had the nickname between these two rivals changed again? From one character “Zhen” to two characters “Zhenzhen,” and now even more terrifying—Xiao Zhenzhen. He glanced secretly at Qi Wu Zhen, fearing they might start fighting again. Seeing her expressionless, as if she hadn’t heard anything, he relaxed slightly and said, “Uh, Breaking the Barrier is that powerful?”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “90% of its power? With your strength, if you force it to use 90% of its power… hehe, Xiao Ranran, you’ll be completely destroyed! This sacrificial artifact can only unleash its full power when controlled by both of us. You alone… better not try to be tough.”
Guo Shier widened his eyes. Xiao Ranran? Fine, he admitted these two had gone crazy, fighting at a level he couldn’t understand. It was better for him to stay out of it.

Li Ran said, “I’m not going to show off.” Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the flames outside the talisman array, as if they were beautiful flowers, with everyone watching intently. Especially Halichi, who turned away. Last time when Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen were clashing, he had only said one sentence before being slapped by Qi Wu Zhen and kicked by Li Ran. Now he knew that in such situations, it was better to pretend to be mute—even acting foolish was better than speaking, as at least that way he wouldn’t get beaten. Guo Shier said, “Can this sacrificial artifact be used with two people? Heh, that’s interesting. I’ve never heard of such a sacrificial artifact before.” Li Ran replied, “It can be used not only by two people together but also by three or four. Of course, the more people there are, the harder it is to control. But if coordinated well, it can unleash 100% or even 120% of the artifact’s power. Of course, that’s not easy to achieve.” Guo Shier thought for a moment and asked, “Only professionals with a ninth-level altar can use it?” Qi Wu Zhen said, “Smart. Only professionals with a ninth-level altar or above can work together. Xiao Ranran and I… can lead, each bringing two professionals with a ninth-level altar. That way… we can maximize the power of breaking through the boundaries.” Guo Shier was stunned. Two professionals above the ninth-level altar, plus four with a ninth-level altar—such strength would definitely be terrifying. Li Ran smiled and said, “Do you think… breaking through this world is that easy? Without this thing’s help, we couldn’t get out. Now we have at least 50%… no, at least 60% chance of leaving this world.” Guo Shier asked, “Should we leave now?” Li Ran replied, “Yes. We’ll leave here, but to find the weak point of this world, we’ll probably have to travel a long way. I don’t know what we’ll encounter, but with our strength, we don’t need to worry. We can also collect some specialties from this world. Once we leave, we’ll never be able to return. There are many things here that don’t exist outside.” Guo Shier had already collected many things, intentionally or not. He nodded and said, “Okay. Where to first?” Li Ran said, “Follow me.” With that, he tore open space and led everyone through. When Guo Shier stepped out, he saw a huge city. The city was built on a mountain, with buildings layered up the slope, looking extremely magnificent. He asked, “Where is this?”

Zhen Wuji smiled and said, “This is the ancient town’s family clan. Hehe, it’s the core city of our clan.” With that, he sent out a message token. Moments later, hundreds of professionals flew over, followed by dozens of flying vehicles. The leading professionals were all altar-level experts, among whom the most prominent was an elderly man at the seventh-tier altar. Behind him were four or five professionals at the fifth and sixth-tier altars. Upon seeing Zhen Wuji, their faces showed excitement.

The elderly man stepped forward and bowed, saying, “Elder Ancestor, you’ve finally returned!”

Zhen Wuji replied with a laugh, “That sounds awkward. What do you mean ‘finally returned’? I come here often, okay? Come, meet these seniors.”

The old man said, “Greetings, seniors. I am the elder ancestor of the ancient town’s family clan, a professional at the seventh-tier altar—Zhen Wuyu.” Though his face was full of wrinkles and he had white hair and beard, he still exuded grace. If he were younger, he would definitely be a handsome man, but now he appeared very aged.

Qi Wu Zhen replied indifferently, “Qi Wu Zhen.” It was a rude response. Zhen Wuji added with a smile, “Senior Qi Wu Zhen is a super expert who surpasses the ninth-tier altar.” He was afraid that someone in the clan might act recklessly and provoke Qi Wu Zhen, as that would be troublesome. Even he was a bit afraid of this woman—how could she have reached such a terrifying level?

Zhen Wuyu was shocked. At first, he had wondered why she was so rude, but now he had no such thoughts. A professional who surpassed the ninth-tier altar indeed had the right to be arrogant.

Li Ran smiled and said, “Li Ran, a professional who surpasses the ninth-tier altar. Pleased to meet you!” He seemed very polite. At this moment, he stopped pretending. He would act playfully toward potential enemies, but the ancient town’s family clan was not an enemy.

The professionals all showed expressions of shock. Two professionals who surpassed the ninth-tier altar—what kind of people were these?

Si De Bing, Lei Zhen Huo, and Lei Yuan remained silent, hovering behind Li Ran with expressions as if their parents had died. It seemed like everyone owed them something; they all looked annoyed. They didn’t want to talk at all. Since they were prisoners, what was there to say?

Guo Shier stepped forward and said, “Guo Shier, a professional at the ninth-tier altar.”

“Halechi, a professional at the eighth-tier altar…”

“Ying Mo, a professional at the sixth-tier altar.”

……

Zhen Wuyu felt his scalp tingle. What kind of people were these? They were all high-level professionals—really scary. After being shocked, he was overjoyed. These insane super experts were all friends of his elder ancestor.

Some high-ranking members of the Ancient Town Family also stepped forward to introduce themselves. Such were the rules of this world, so no one grew impatient, and soon everyone had introduced themselves. Zhen Wuyu said, “Elder Ancestor, what should we do?” He was also a bit confused—how could they entertain so many experts?
Zhen Wujie replied, “Treat them with the highest standards the family can offer. What are you thinking? Go and arrange it right away.”
……
The reception hall of the Ancient Town Family was packed with professionals. Zhen Wujie had to speak up and ask some of the family elders to leave; those without important positions all departed. No one dared disobey Zhen Wujie’s orders. He was like a half-empperor within the family, though he often disappeared for years or even decades without returning.
The group of elders left reluctantly, leaving only about a dozen of the most important elders, all high-ranking members of the family.
Everyone sat on the ground, with a small low table in front of each person. Professionals from the Ancient Town Family brought various fruits and snacks, along with cups of water.
Zhen Wuyu said, “Elder Wujie, thank goodness you’ve returned. Our family is facing a problem…”
As soon as Zhen Wujie met Zhen Wuyu, he could tell from his tone that there was a problem. He didn’t expect Zhen Wuyu to bring it up right in front of the guests. He asked, “What kind of problem? Isn’t Zhen Wushuang at home?” Zhen Wushuang was another elder of the Nine-Level Altar in the Ancient Town Family. The family had two top elders: Zhen Wushuang and Zhen Wujie.
Zhen Wuyu said with a wry smile, “Elder Wushuang left half a year ago.”
Zhen Wushuang had even greater prestige in the family than Zhen Wujie, because Zhen Wujie liked to travel around, while Zhen Wushuang stayed in the family most of the time, serving as a deterrent force. Sometimes, when she felt like it, she would handle some family affairs, so her words carried more weight than Zhen Wujie’s when she was around.
Zhen Wujie turned to Li Ran and said, “I’m truly sorry.” He apologized because it was impolite for the family’s high-ranking members to discuss internal family matters during a reception.
Li Ran shook his head nonchalantly and said, “It’s okay. Go ahead. Unless it’s urgent, he probably wouldn’t rush to tell you.” He understood this well, as he had also managed a business alliance and was familiar with such things.
Zhen Wuyu showed a hint of apology. He knew it was inappropriate to discuss family matters at this time, but it had to be said.

Guo Shier and Qi Wu Zhen were discussing something, murmuring to each other without anyone knowing what they were talking about, so they didn’t notice Zhen Wu Ji and the others’ conversation. Halechi felt extremely uncomfortable. Watching Guo Shier and Qi Wu Zhen chatting animatedly, he blinked his peach-colored eyes, eager to join in but afraid of being beaten by Qi Wu Zhen. Extremely frustrated, he could only chat casually with Wang Ke Er from time to time.

Zhen Wu Ji then said, “What’s the matter? Go ahead and tell me. The senior isn’t an outsider; there’s no need to hide anything. Speak freely.”

Li Ran couldn’t help but laugh silently. He actually had no interest in hearing about the affairs of the Ancient Town family, but since Zhen Wu Ji had asked, he didn’t object either. He smiled as he looked at Zhen Wu Yu.

Zhen Wu Yu said with a grim expression, “Our family… has been targeted by the Langyan Merchant Alliance. They want one of our continents. They’ve come several times in the past few months…”

Zhen Wu Ji’s pupils narrowed. “Langyan Merchant Alliance? The one that’s roughly on par in strength with the Yuanke Alliance?”

Li Ran was slightly stunned. He had witnessed the strength of the Yuanke Alliance in Da Yuan Tan, and such strength was definitely beyond what a large ancient family could withstand.

Zhen Wu Ji froze for a moment before his face darkened. He said in a deep voice, “Tell me more details.”

Zhen Wu Yu replied, “Yes.”